Office Conditions Are Facility Managers' Domain

Office Too Hot? Cold? Facility Managers Have Heard That One

November 27, 1991|By FRANCES GRANDY TAYLOR; Courant Staff Writer

A recent survey of facility managers at U.S. corporations shows that many employee complaints are not about what's going on in the office but about the office itself. The Top 10 complaints received by facility managers from workers were that the office was: too hot, too cold, didn't have enough filing space, conference rooms or storage space; the elevators were too slow, janitorial service was poor, indoor air quality was poor, parking was inadequate and chairs were uncomfortable.

The survey found that regardless of the company's size, the top three complaints (too hot, too cold, not enough space) were the same. The survey was answered by 2,100 facilities managers who are members of the International Facility Management Association, or IFMA.

Companies with fewer than 100 employees were the only ones to list noise levels and computer problems in the Top 10, while companies with more than 1,000 employees were most unhappy that their complaints about the office often went unanswered.

The survey responses "are pretty typical of the ones I get," says Christine Neldon, president of IFMA, a facilities manager at Arthur Anderson in Atlanta.

Such complaints are only the beginning when it comes to making workers comfortable at work, say managers.

The survey also gave the managers a chance to cite the most unusual complaints they received. Many of the complaints were animal-related, such as "squirrels on a ledge are freezing," and "cats are trapped in ceiling," and "cow is walking through the lobby."

Neldon says she's also heard stories of animal complaints from members around the country.

"One office in Washington, D.C., had a big problem with snakes because the building was near a swamp area. The snakes would crawl into the light fixtures and drop on people."

Another office had problems with rats. "Rats were living in the hedges at the front of the office. Every time the electronic doors opened, the rats would come running into the lobby."

Carol Christensen, a facilities manager at American Brands in

Old Greenwich, says she hasn't had complaints quite that exotic, but recalls that a family of wasps building a nest in a window caused some concern for employees. "Since we couldn't charge them [the wasps] rent, we had to make them leave," she says.

But people -- and their perceptions of what the workplace ought to offer -- often pose the greater challenge. Other complaints reported in the survey included "desk is moving across the floor by itself, " "no shelves for reading material in the restroom," and "no place to lie down after lunch."

Christensen says complaints she receives also concern offices being too hot or too cold. "Its a very subjective complaint, but it can affect someone's work, so we try to look at it from their point of view."

Carol Calabro, who works for Physician Health Service, an HMO in Trumbull, says "the most amusing complaint I've had was when someone called to tell me the security guard was whistling too loudly. That one stopped me cold. After a lot of years as a manager I had no answer. "It's pretty hard to go up to someone and tell them not to be happy. I just listened [to the employee] and let the person vent," she says.

Neldon says her company at one point was plagued by a mysterious "bathroom trasher."

"A person was going into the ladies room and leaving debris all over the place. No one was ever seen doing it, and no one knew who it was. People were so upset that they suggested we install surveillance cameras in the bathroom, or hire a psychic," she says. "They were very serious, and I had to very diplomatically tell them we couldn't do that. We never discovered who it was, and after a while it just went away."

One survey respondent received a complaint that "the flagpoles were too skinny."

"Some executive probably meant that he thought the flagpole was out of balance with the flag," she explains. "As outlandish as some of these things sound, there is often an underlying serious reason for the complaints. If the office is too hot or too cold, or the chairs are uncomfortable, that affects efficiency. Our job is to provide the tools that people need to do their jobs properly." Facility management is also one of those jobs that many people don't notice unless something goes wrong. "`No one's ever going to say I'm so glad the toilets are flushing today," Calabro says. "This may sound strange, but sometimes my best day is when no speaks to me."